The Future Of Us
by hoffkk
Summary: Josh learns something new about Maya...and perhaps himself!


Josh was halfway through his first semester at NYU, and he was having the time of his life, meeting new people, trying new things, and just being a part of something new. As fun as college life was, the work load sucked. It wasn't particularly hard, he just had a lot of menial assignments that he had to do pretty much all the time.

It was a Wednesday evening around 7:00pm and Josh had just completed a couple of the aforementioned assignments when he decided he needed a pick me up. There were a couple coffee joints nearby, but Josh decided to take the long walk to Topanga's. The walk would be a good refresher, and it would be nice to see his family. In fact, maybe he would stop his brother's place afterward.

Josh was contemplating the idea as he waited in line for his coffee. Once he received his order, a large cappuccino, he headed toward the door. He was about to make his exit when a familiar mane of blonde hair caught his attention.

"Maya?" He called out in question toward the blonde who sat in the corner booth, hunched over an array of papers.

"Huh?" She said, snapping her head upward to locate the voice she knew all too well. "Oh, hey, Josh."

"Hey." Josh smiled.

"What are you doing here?" She queried, knowing that there were coffee shops much closer to campus that he could go to.

"Need some coffee...and a change of scenery." He answered.

"Ah." She nodded, understanding the feeling.

"Where's Riley?" He inquired, suddenly aware that his niece was nowhere to be found, which was weird because the two girls were pretty inseparable.

"She's at the movies with Lucas." Maya replied. "So, I figured I would just hang out here for a bit."

"Cool." Josh smiled then took a sip of his coffee. "So, What exactly you working on there?" He added with a nod of the head toward the table top, which was covered in different half-finished drawings.

"Just a few sketches." Maya tried to act nonchalant about it. "They're rough... _really_ rough." She explained as Josh stepped forward to get a closer look.

"No," He assured. "They're good... _really_ good."

Maya could feel her cheeks flush at his compliment, which only made her blush more.

"Thanks." She smiled.

"Are they for school?" Josh wondered aloud.

"More like for work." Maya responded, and when Josh gave her a confused look she went on. "I'm too young for an actual job, but I wanted to make some extra cash, so Topanga offered to pay me for my artwork. She wants to decorate the bakery with a few of my pieces."

"Wow." Josh replied. "That's awesome."

"I've only done one so far, the one on the wall beside the register." She clarified, gesturing to the picture on the wall. It was of a family of four, two parents and two kids, a daughter and a son. The resemblance was uncanny. Josh could clearly see likeness of his brother's family in each of the people in the drawing. They were all smiling and having fun, playing a board game in the living room, the Family Game he presumed.

"That's amazing, Maya." He told her once he managed to pull his eyes away from the piece of art he somehow missed before. "It looks just like them."

"That was the goal." Maya stated, tucking some hair behind her ear. "I figured since the store is called Topanga's, the first picture should be of Topanga...and her family. Then, once Topanga saw it, she insisted the next one be of my mom and I, since we are a big part of the store and their lives...her words, not mine."

"Well, she's right." Josh affirmed, making Maya's cheeks turn pinkish yet again.

After giving him a shy smile, she said, "I, um, I'd also like to do one of you. I mean, you and your parents, and maybe one of your sister, Morgan, and your brother, Eric. To me, you Matthews are what make this place and the people inside it feel so special, and I'd like to show the customers that through my artwork. Do you think, they'd mind? Your family, I mean?

Josh just stared at her a moment. Maya was something else. She was clearly very talented, and the way she was talking about his family was incredibly sweet. He didn't see himself as special, but Maya...she definitely was.

"Josh?" She questioned when he didn't reply right away.

"Hmmm? Oh, no, they wouldn't mind at all. In fact, I'm pretty sure they'd love it."

"Cool." She said, her nervousness suddenly gone. "Now, I just need to find the right inspiration."

"How about some live inspiration?" He asked tentatively.

"What do you mean?" She retorted with a quirked brow.

"I mean, I could be your model, and you could draw me." Josh offered.

"If I say yes, you're not gonna rip of your shirt and make me draw your muscles, are you?" She queried only half-joking. Let's be serious, if he did do that, she would be drawing him in a heartbeat with incredible detail.

Josh burst out laughing before responding, "Yeah...no. I was thinking I could just sit here and smile.

"Okay then." Maya smiled. "Why, not?"

"Cool." Josh smiled back, then slid into the booth so he was sitting across from her.

For the next twenty minutes Maya began working on a portrait of Josh, while they talked aimlessly about anything and everything. The weird part was...that it wasn't weird at all. They were completely comfortable chatting and joking with each other like they were old friends...or a couple.

"Okay, I'm finished." Maya stated matter-of-factly, then turned her sketch book around so Josh could see.

"That looks great," Josh complimented. "though you could've made my hair look better." He added jokingly.

"Hey, I just draw what I see." She teased back.

"Ouch." He feigned hurt, then proceeded to laugh.

"Seriously, though, that picture is pretty incredible, especially since it's the first one you've ever drawn of me. You've got some serious talent, Maya." Josh enthused, raking his eyes over the portrait once more, taking in every detail from the curve and structure of his jaw line to the gleam and smile of his eyes. He still couldn't believe she could draw like that; her work looked so professional.

"Uh, right. Thanks." Maya stumbled through her thank you. The truth was, this wasn't the first time she had drawn him, or the second, or even the third. Let's just say she could give Riley's "Bowl of Lucas" a run for its money... and then some. However, she wasn't about to tell Josh that.

The two got to talking some more about school, friends, family, and a bunch of other stuff. Josh found Maya very easy to talk to, the conversation just flowed so naturally between them.

"So, are you sure your family won't mind me drawing them?" Maya asked once more, not wanting to make anyone uncomfortable with her portraits.

"I'm sure. Trust me." Josh confirmed.

"I do." Maya said with a sweet smile, and Josh smiled back. They were getting lost in each other's smiles was Maya decided to come back to reality. "Um, do you think you could do me a favor? For the portraits, I mean."

"Of course," Josh answered without missing a beat. "Name it."

"Well, my drawings come out much better when I have a model to look at." Maya began. "So, would you mind lending me some family photos to look off of for my portraits?"

"No problem. I'll bring some by this weekend." Josh promised

"Thanks. I owe you one." Maya responded.

"Seeing your amazing work displayed in here will be thanks enough." Josh replied, placing his hand on top of Maya's to show he meant it. The world deserved to see a talent like hers. The touch sent a tingle up his arm and straight to his heart, catching him off guard. They way Maya stared back at him with stars in her eyes made him wonder if she felt it too.

"Well," He began to add, breaking contact to check his watch and collect himself. He couldn't believe it, but apparently he had spent a whole hour chatting with Maya. "I should probably get going. I didn't realize how late is was getting."

"Okay. See you this weekend? For the photos, I mean." Maya rushed to add, not wanting to seem too eager or anything.

"Definitely." Josh answered, tossing her one of his million watt smiles, then stood and made his way to the door to make his exit, but not before tossing one last smile over his shoulder.

Maya just smiled and gave a small wave back. Once he was out of sight, she put her nervous, excited energy to work and started sketching. Her hand flew across the page of her sketch book a lightning speed, guided by pure passion.

After what felt like hours, Maya was finally done with her drawing and could finally look at it as a whole. It was of a couple, a short, blonde woman and a tall, brunette man with a boyish grin. The wore wedding rings and played with a small child. They were all having a picnic in the park. Maya bit her lip then made one last addition to the woman's stature, a small, protruding belly.

With a small smile, she signed her name in the bottom right corner and scrawled a title at the top:

 _"The Future of Us"_


End file.
